Masters of the crime genre like to maintain suspense for their readers by releasing several parts of one story. Many detective publications were filmed, thus receiving global recognition public.

The author of the crime genre must have extreme ingenuity and logic, because drawing up a plot requires thinking through many aspects and subtleties. In this article we will look at best works from the most popular domestic and foreign authors.

Detectives: books. List of the best modern stories

• Jo Nesbe - "Police".

This Norwegian author is capable of creating a truly exciting work that will not leave any lover of pulp fiction indifferent. This novel Today it is Yu's best work according to Norwegian critics. In his stories, Nesbe sharply condemns the existing foundations of society and human nature.

A criminal is a person who was led by circumstances to commit a crime. This is exactly the position the author adheres to when creating the plots of his detective stories. The main character of the novel has a rather incomprehensible image and dynamic character. You can easily make friends with him, but at the same time you want to teach him a lesson and show him how to behave.

At the center of the novel is Detective Hole, a man who abuses alcohol and is not ashamed to do it even at work. Feeling his impunity, he humiliates his charges and is negligent in the performance of official duties. All his achievements in solving cases are purely intuitive. The hero almost died in the previous part of the book, so this time he decides to leave the service. Six months later, the corpses of police officers began to appear one after another at the crime scenes that had been solved thanks to Hola. The detective does not want to return to his previous activities and prefers to continue lecturing at the local academy. However, Khole soon realizes that he is obliged to solve the crime, because he could be the next victim.

The work is headed Norwegian list Nesbe's books force the reader to remain in suspense until the very end, which makes the writer's works very popular.

• Joël Dicker - The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.

The author of this book recently turned 28 years old. Despite his young age, Joël has achieved enormous success in the modern writing industry. His books sell millions of copies and easily become bestsellers. The story has been translated into more than 35 languages ​​and won 8 awards.

On this book really worth paying attention to. The novel tells the story of the writer Marcus, who comes to see his friend, driven into a creative crisis, Harry, who is in search of inspiration and new stories for his future works. In Harry's garden they find the remains of a little ten-year-old girl who disappeared without a trace more than 30 years ago. In the purse with which she was buried, a manuscript of one of the most famous novel authors of that time was found. Naturally, all suspicions fall on Harry, who admitted that he and the girl had a romantic relationship. Marcus, wanting to somehow help his friend, begins his own investigation of this crime. The novel tops the list of the best detective stories (books of the 21st century).

• Kate Atkinson - Crimes of the Past.

The novel tells the story of a missing girl who disappeared literally in a matter of minutes from her father's garden. In another family, another girl was found murdered in the evening of the same day. None of the relatives understand why the child was killed, and in such a cruel way. Two different families, but one grief. What connects them? A failed private detective, who still can’t develop his ingenuity and begin to solve crimes, decided to find the answer to this question. But for the children's parents, this is the last chance to find out the truth and achieve justice. Further events The books show that Jackson is not as hopeless as everyone previously thought him to be, because it was he who managed to understand what event in the lives of families connects everything that happened into one puzzle.

The novel has an exciting dynamic plot. He was added to the list of the best detectives. Atkinson's books were rated by Stephen King himself, the guru of the crime genre.

• Nikolai Svechin - “Warsaw Secrets”.

Svechin is one of the most successful authors in the Russian detective genre. At one time he was vehemently compared to Akunin, but thanks to critics, he managed to prove that his work is unique and worthy of praise. All his crime works have historical overtones, which is why reading them becomes doubly interesting. The main character of the novel “Warsaw Secrets” is the nobleman Lykov, who is practically incompetent in his teaching activities, does not know a single foreign language, and this very often fails him. In the novel, he tries to get to the bottom of the truth in the case of the murder of Russian officers in Warsaw. Svechin's works are the best Russian detective stories. The books, a list of which can be found below in the article, made the author a world famous writer.

• Jesse Kellerman - "Heat"

The title of the book fully justifies the general atmosphere of the work. The action takes place in modern Los Angeles, which is experiencing an earthquake. One of the office employees, Gloria, wants to go to her workplace and check if her boss's collection of figurines is still intact. Walking into the reception area, she discovers a ton of incoming messages on the answering machine and begins listening to them. The boss called, and judging by the tone of his voice, he is in danger. But what exactly happened to him is unclear. From the short and broken messages, she only understands that he is somewhere in Mexico, where she decided to go.

What works have an impressive rating today? Detectives. Books, the list of which can be continued ad infinitum, convey the author’s thoughts much more deeply than numerous film adaptations. After all, there are no limits to a person’s imagination.

Detective books. List of Rex Stout's best works

Stout is a cult author of crime fiction who began writing in the first half of the twentieth century. To this day, his books remain among the most sought after in the world. Woolf and Goodwin, who are known to everyone, are the heroes of Rex's novels. However, in addition to them, the author has more than fifty books of a criminal nature in his arsenal. We list the most interesting and exciting of them:

• "The Red Thread" (1939).
• "Broken Vase" (1941).
• "Bad for Business" (1940).
• “A Prize for Princes (1914) - topped the rating, which described the best foreign detective stories (books), a list of which can always be found in any library.
• "The Big Legend" (1916).

Books by authors from CIS countries

Alexandra Marinina is a popular author of exciting detective novels that are not inferior to famous Western creations for their twisted and interesting plot. The writer's works literally fly off bookstore shelves in the first month of sales. Marinina is one of the most successful women Russia, who write detective stories.

Boris Akunin is a cult author of the Russian detective genre. His series of books about the adventures of Fandorin has been read by over 5,000,000 people around the world. Thanks to this, his works were included in the “Best Russian detectives» Books, the list of which is quite impressive, never cease to amaze and fascinate their readers.

Rating of authors of psychological detective stories

• John Le Caré. His works occupy leading positions in the “Psychological Detective” rating. Books (the list of best authors is impressive) are sold in huge quantities.
• James Elroy.
• Alexandra Marinina.
• Polina Dashkova.
• Agatha Christie.

Popular stories of the 21st century

• Sarah Waters - "Delicate work."

The setting of the novel is foggy and cold London. The plot centers on a girl named Susan, whose parents died when she was only a few months old. The girl is being raised by a certain Miss Saxby, a child trafficker. Despite this, Susan is happy with her life and tries to appreciate what she has. One fine day, a girl receives the task of deceiving the rich heir to the throne.

In the article section we describe the best detective stories - books, the list of which is not so long. After reading them, you will definitely not be disappointed.

• Andrews Taylor - "The Mystery of Edgar Poe."

The book was published in 2010. The story is told from the perspective of school teacher Thomas, who meets Edgar. It was after this meeting that the teacher’s life changed dramatically.

• Cormac McCarthy - "No Country for Old Men."

This novel is quite famous American classic has become popular among lovers of stories with an interesting plot. After all, the book is rightfully included in the top, which covers the best foreign detective stories (books), the list of which is very diverse.

Popular works that have been adapted into films

Dennis Lehane - "Secret River" The film received positive reviews from film critics, which is quite rare for film adaptations. The film will definitely appeal to fans of action and action films.

• Thomas Harris - Hannibal (2001).
• Thomas Harris - Hannibal 2 (2006).
• Retner Brett - "Red Dragon".
• Thomas Harris - The Silence of the Lambs (1990). As you can see, the author occupies three honorable places in this list, because his creations are iconic examples of the world detective novel. It is not for nothing that his works have topped the list of the best detectives many times. The books of this writer were published in many languages.
• Flynn Gillian - Before I Sleep (2002).

The best detective fiction authors

• Agatha Christie.
• Thomas Harris is an author whose works are known all over the world, having been filmed and achieved overwhelming success at the box office. Even today, remakes and TV series are being made based on Thomas’s books.
• Boris Akunin.
• Sarah Waters.

• Kate Atkinson is the author of more than fifty detective novels for women, which not only tell love stories, but also draw the reader into a whirlwind of strange events and mysterious investigations. Her works have topped the list of best detective stories many times. Books of this genre are in great demand.
• Truman Capote is a famous American author of detective novels, who became famous throughout the world thanks to his extraordinary and exciting plots that take the reader into the abyss of intricate events that subsequently have an unexpected outcome.

Detective books about love

• Simone Vilar - "The Witch". These are four books that have a sharp plot and at the same time elements love story, which will appeal to any girl.
• Simone Vilar - "The Secret Castle".
• Sandra May - "Melodies of Spring".
• Linda Medl - "Whisper of Flowers".
• Doris Mortman - True Colors. The work is included in the authoritative rating “The Best Detectives”. The books, the list of which is very impressive, are regularly updated with new interesting stories.
• Ray Morgan - "Paradise Vacation".
• Karin Monk - " A tender word your".
• Karin Monk - "Prisoner".
• Eva Modigliani - "The Heiress".
• Eva Modigliani - “The woman of his life.”

Dan Brown's Detectives

Dan Brown is one of the most popular modern authors. Fans of his books are eagerly awaiting new history about the adventures of Robert Langdon, a specialist in the symbolism of the Ancient World.

Almost all of his existing novels have been filmed or are in the process of being made into films. All of Brown's stories have a powerful backstory that makes them interesting to any reader. Agree, who wouldn’t be interested in the old legends about the Freemasons and the Illuminati? Below is a list of several of Dan's most successful books, along with a brief description of their storyline:

Exciting detective stories for children

There are many authors who aim to create detective books for children and teenagers. Of course, such works have a twisted investigative plot without any elements of cruelty. The best Russian detectives (books), list for children:

1. Sergey Task - “The Mystery of the Red Cat.”
2. Nikolai Trublaini - “Columbus”.
3. Anatoly Rybakov - “Dirk”.

The above children's books are more like adventure novels, but they have elements of investigation, which is why they are classified as Russian children's detective literature.

Undoubtedly, there are many people in the world who do not see a more pleasant way to relax than to plunge into the intricate course of the investigation of a complex crime committed on the pages of a quality detective story. But in order for the detective to be good and the pleasure not to be spoiled, we decided to identify the real masters of the detective genre.

10th place: Dan Brown (b. 1964)

Popular Novels:"The Da Vinci Code", "Angels and Demons", "Inferno"

Popular character: Robert Langton, a brilliant scientist with a worldwide reputation, in his usual tweed jacket, leather moccasins and a Mickey Mouse watch.

Interesting Facts: In his books, Dan distorts facts that later have to be refuted in favor of the truth. For example, in his book, Brown claims that Raphael was first buried in Urbino; ​​a sign had to be added to his grave in the Pantheon stating that Brown made it up and that Raphael’s ashes always rested in Rome.

Dan Brown doesn't have many books to his name, but all of them are successful. Of the six published works, three have been filmed (this year we are expecting the premiere of “Inferno”). His books are based on a detective story with elements of historical inclusions, conspiracies and mysteries. On the pages of his books you can meet Masons, Illuminati, Assassins and many others, the existence of which is not known for certain. At the same time, Dan is not always accurate in his historical facts, which leads to some oddities with those who take it too closely fiction, confusing it with historical. Although, after reading some books, it may well seem that there is a worldwide conspiracy around you...

9th place: Raymond Chandler (1884 - 1959)

Popular Novels:"Deep Sleep", "Farewell, Beloved"

Popular character: Philip Marlowe, a private detective from Los Angeles, a battered cynic who observes moral decay with pessimism American society and the corruption that reigns there.

Interesting Facts: Along with D. Hammett and D. M. Kane, he became the founder of the “hard-boiled detective” genre, which later in the film industry began to be called noir.

Chandler has only eight detective novels to his name, but they are all very worthy. The main character of the novels, Philip Marlowe, combines honesty and cynicism. Despite his harshness and regular consumption of bourbon, Philip is a deeply positive character, putting duty above everything, even the charms of the fatal temptresses of the noir world. Philip first appeared on the pages of Chandler's works in 1934, in a short story, where he acts among other similar characters, and over time he will become the main character of the author's works.

While working on the script for the film Double Indemnity, Raymond Chandler accidentally walked into the frame. This is the only film where Chandler, albeit incidentally, is featured in the film.

8th place: John Grisham (b. 1955)

Popular Novels:"Time to Kill", "The Firm", "The Case of the Pelicans"

Interesting Facts: Grisham began his writing career after hearing the heartbreaking testimony of a twelve-year-old girl who was the victim of rape. John was so impressed by this trial that he soon wrote his first work based on this story, “A Time to Kill,” which reflected his thoughts on what would happen if the father of a raped girl killed her attackers.

As a child, Grisham dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. But his fate did not follow a sporting pattern. While studying, Grisham worked part-time in a nursery, watering bushes for a dollar an hour; at the age of 16, he got a job as a plumber, and later managed to work as an asphalt paver and a salesman of men's underwear (which he considered extremely humiliating). As a result, having received a law degree, he became a trial lawyer and defended the law for more than ten years, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. Grisham abandoned the practice of law with the release of his second book, which brought him popularity.

7th place: Ian Fleming (1906 - 1964)

Popular Novels:"Casino Royale", "From Russia with Love"

Popular character: James Bond, commander of the British Navy, known as "agent 007", is an adventurous, determined, passionate lover of women, gambling and alcohol.

Interesting Facts: In his youth, Fleming decided to become a diplomat. He successfully failed the examination for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And this would not be so surprising if it were not for the fact: the exam in which the future bestselling author received a “failure” was... literature.

In 1939, before the outbreak of World War II, Fleming worked for British intelligence. The service helped him in writing Bond novels, because being, according to his contemporaries, an observant person, he included many details of the service in his books. In 1933, while in Moscow, Fleming wanted to interview Joseph Stalin and was very surprised by the fact that he received a refusal nominal form with the personal signature of the Supreme Leader of the USSR. In total, Ian wrote 12 Bond novels, as well as 2 collections of short stories dedicated to this hero. Nevertheless, twice as many films have been made based on these books - 25 to date.

6th place: Earl Stanley Gardner (1889 - 1970)

Popular Novels:"The Case of the Gloomy Girl", "The Case of the Velvet Claws"

Popular character: Perry Mason, a practicing Los Angeles lawyer who, in addition to representing him in court, personally conducts private investigations, in parallel with the police, personally examines crime scenes, the circumstances of the crime, physical evidence and obtains other information that can help exonerate his clients and incriminate criminals.

Interesting Facts: The prototype of lawyer Perry Mason's secretary was the author's chosen one - secretary Agnes Bethel.

82 novels were written about the inquisitive lawyer Perry Mason, which brought the author world fame. Before writing the novels, the author himself worked as a lawyer for about twenty years, so his novels contain an exemplary knowledge of police and judicial procedure, aspects of forensic examination and many other subtleties of lawyering. But Perry Mason is not the only brainchild of Gardner; under the pseudonym A. A. Fair, Gardner wrote a good series of novels about private detective Donald Lamb and his boss Bertha Cool, which are partly a parody of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.

5th place: Boris Akunin (b. 1956)

Popular Novels:"Azazel", "Turkish Gambit"

Popular character: Erast Petrovich Fandorin, the ideal aristocrat of the 19th century, noble, educated, devoted, incorruptible, good-looking, popular with the ladies, lucky in gambling.

Interesting Facts: In most books from the series “The Adventures of Erast Fandorin” published by the Zakharov publishing house, a portrait of Boris Akunin is present on the first pages. He is portrayed as minor characters in the novels.

Before you start writing career Akunin worked as a translator and literary critic. Lived for several years in Japan. The writer's first wife was Japanese.

The incredible success of the first novels about Fandorin, including among readers who do not recognize detective stories, is explained not only by masterful stylization and skillful mixing of many literary and historical sources, but also because in the novels, in addition to the detective riddle, the answer was sought: is it possible to remain an impeccable person while serving in flawed structures?

4th place: James Hadley Chase (1906 - 1985)

Popular Novels:"No Orchids for Miss Blandish", "The Dead Don't Bite", "Bad News from a Doll"

Popular character: Vic Malloy, private detective who owns the "universal service" agency

Interesting Facts: On the territory of the USSR, Chase became famous partly by accident. During perestroika iron curtain began to fall and a stream rushed into the USSR foreign literature. When Chase hit the shelves, he had no one to compete with, so his detective stories gained popularity faster than the ideas of socialism in Cuba.

My literary career Chase starts with a row humorous stories. In 1938, he made his first attempts to write an action movie in the spirit of “the adventures of American gangsters,” drawing information from newspapers. He writes his first detective story in 12 days. No Orchids for Miss Blandish was well received by the publisher, critics and readers, becoming one of the best-selling books of the decade. Chase has over a hundred detective novels to his credit, delighting the reader with a twisted plot and action-packed events.

3rd place: Rex Stout (1886 - 1975)

Popular Novels:"The League of Frightened Men", "Kill Again", "Black Orchids"

Popular character: Nero Wolfe, a private detective, is overweight, with a wide forehead, gray-black hair and magnificent teeth.

Interesting Facts: In 2001, the detective series “The Mysteries of Nero Wolfe” was released. And although the series was more than good, after two seasons it was closed due to a change in the direction of the channel that produced it. There is also a Russian version of the series, but in comparison with the original it is very mediocre.

Stout is original in the plot, his character solves crimes without leaving home due to his own obesity. Assistant Goodwin does all the grunt work for him, and in exceptional cases, a couple of other detectives.

Stout and his character Wolf are a bit similar. The surname “Stout” translates as “overweight”, “obese”, and his character Niro is exactly that. Rex was fond of growing strawberries and repeatedly won various competitions, and Nero Wolfe was a passionate collector of orchids.

The series of novels about Wulf is one of the pinnacles of world detective literature. In them the author reflected his worldview, a vision of the world based on humanistic principles.

2nd place: Agatha Christie (1890 - 1976)

Popular Novels:"Murder on the Golf Course", "The Man in the Brown Suit"

Popular character: Hercule Poirot, Belgian detective, small in stature, with an egg-shaped head, black hair (dyes it with age), " cat eyes", strict well-groomed clothes, shoes and a mustache, which are a source of pride.

Interesting Facts: Agatha Christie became the standard for creating detective stories; at her instigation, the “10 Commandments of the Detective Genre” were created, which the classics of the genre still adhere to.

One of the few detective authors who are women, especially successful ones. It is difficult to find a person who has not heard of the legendary detective with a mustache or has not seen the film adaptation of her novels on TV. Hercule Poirot has become a style icon, an inimitable detective who easily unravels even the most mysterious stories, and, of course, ends the investigation with a debut monologue-revelation. Therefore, he never shares his conclusions with either the police or the participants, leaving all the details and the solution to the next puzzle for the “last act.”

1st place: Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930)

Popular Novels:"The Hound of the Baskervilles", "A Study in Scarlet", "The Sign of Four"

Popular character: Sherlock Holmes, a London private detective, biochemist, has versatile talents, knows anatomy, chemistry, medicine very well, is a confirmed bachelor, a heavily dependent smoker, uses cocaine intravenously with a complete absence of interesting crimes.

Interesting Facts: Conan Doyle was a giant with a powerful torso and bodybuilder's biceps, possessed incredible strength even in old age. He was fond of many sports and was an excellent billiards player. It was he who instilled in Switzerland skiing, was one of the first rally organizers and the first moped tester.

"A Study in Scarlet" - the first work that brought Doyle success, was published in 1887. Doyle's pen includes 60 stories and two literary compositions about Sherlock Holmes, himself famous hero English literature. Sherlock Doyle was inspired by Joseph Bell, who worked at the Royal Hospital of Edinburgh and was distinguished by his ability to draw subtle conclusions from the smallest observations. appearance patient. In turn, Sherlock Hill became one of the basis for creating the character of Gregory House, a brilliant doctor from the series of the same name. Like Holmes, House only likes difficult cases, is cynical, has a passion for music and is addicted to drugs.

Lifehacker has collected the best detective stories different eras: from classics of the genre to paintings in the neo-noir style. All of them have high ratings on IMDb. Many have been awarded prestigious awards and nominations.

• Thriller, drama, detective.
• USA, 1974.
• Duration: 130 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.2.

The film by Roman Polanski tells the story of private detective Jake Gittes. A rich lady approaches him, suspecting her husband of... The detective begins an investigation, not knowing how it will turn out for him.

The film was nominated for 11 Oscars and received one statuette for best scenario. But the Golden Globe jury and the British Film Academy did not skimp on awards for Jack Nicholson (Best Actor) and Roman Polanski (Best Director).

• Thriller, detective.
• USA, 1954.
• Duration: 105 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.2.

Tennis star Tony Wendice suspects that his wife has fallen in love with famous detective story author Mark Halliday. Out of fear of losing all his money, he plots to kill his wife. Tony comes up with a detailed plan, but does not take into account Holliday's excellent analytical skills.

3. Window to the courtyard

• Thriller, detective.
• USA, 1954.
• Duration: 112 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.5.

A photojournalist breaks his leg and ends up in wheelchair. Out of boredom, he watches his neighbors and comes to the conclusion that a murder has occurred in their house.

• Detective, thriller.
• USSR, 1987.
• Duration: 130 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.0.

10 arrive at the estate strangers. The owners of the house are not there, but the butler kindly helps the guests to accommodate themselves. He later plays a recording of an unknown voice accusing each guest of murder.

• Thriller, drama, detective.
• USA, 1957.
• Duration: 116 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.4.

Seriously ill lawyer Wilfrid Robarts is forced to stop working in court. But then his attention is drawn to a very complex criminal case. Leonard Vole is accused of murdering his close and very wealthy girlfriend. All evidence points to Leonard as the culprit. Despite the doctors' prohibitions, the lawyer takes on this losing case.

• Horror, detective.
• UK, Canada, USA, 1987.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.3.

Mr. Cypher turns to private detective Harry Angel. He asks to find a man who disappeared after the war. The detective begins an investigation. And the further his search progresses, the more confusing the matter becomes.

7. Not caught - not a thief

• Thriller, drama, detective.
• USA, 2006.
• Duration: 129 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.6.

The perfect bank robbery takes place in downtown New York. There are no clues. But that doesn't stop Detective Fraser. He begins an investigation and soon finds out that the criminals were interested in something more than money.

• Noir, detective.
• USA, 1941.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.1.

The noir film follows private investigator Sam Spade as he embarks on a deadly race to recover a missing Maltese falcon figurine.

The film had big success from critics and viewers. The film was nominated for three “” awards, and in 1989 it was included in the US National Film Registry.

• Drama, detective.
• USA, 1941.
• Duration: 119 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.4.

Newspaper magnate Charles Kane dies in his mansion, uttering the word "Rosebud" before his death. To find out the meaning of the mysterious message, journalists begin an investigation and find out who Citizen Kane really was.

The legendary film by Orson Welles received nine Oscar nominations, but received only one award for best original script. Nevertheless, the contribution of this film to cinema is priceless. The American Film Institute compiled a list in 1998 AFI's 100 GREATEST AMERICAN MOVIES OF ALL TIME the best American films, in which Citizen Kane came out on top.

• Thriller, drama, detective.
• USA, 1974.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.9.

A successful businessman hired Harry Cole, a top wiretapping specialist, to spy on the young couple. Usually Cole does not delve into the essence of other people's conversations, but simply does the work and transfers the data to the customer. However, this time he gave up his own rule to prevent the murder.

• Thriller, detective.
• USA, 1985.
• Duration: 94 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.3.

The mysterious murder of Mr. Boddy takes place in the mansion. The guests deny any involvement, although each of them had a serious motive. To clear themselves of blame, the suspects need someone hiding in the house.

• Comedy, detective.
• USA, 1934.
• Duration: 91 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.1.

On Christmas Eve, the secretary of the famous inventor Vanant is found dead. The first suspect is Vanant himself, who disappears without a trace.

13. Goodbye baby, goodbye

• Thriller, drama, detective.
• USA, 2007.
• Duration: 114 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.7.

A little girl goes missing in Boston. Her aunt turns to two private investigators because the police are moving too slowly. Detectives are reluctant to take on a case that will change their lives forever.

• Thriller, detective.
• Great Britain, 1949.
• Duration: 104 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.2.

Romance author Holly Martins comes to Vienna to meet her old friend only to discover that he has died in an accident. The police consider the deceased a criminal and a scoundrel. Then Martins decides to conduct his own investigation to restore good name his comrade and prove that it was murder.

15. Zodiac

• Thriller, drama, detective.
• USA, 2007.
• Duration: 158 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.7.

Residents of San Francisco are in fear of a serial killer nicknamed the Zodiac. Employees of a local newspaper team up with police detectives to reveal the identity of the maniac and break the chain of murders.

16. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

• Thriller, detective.
• USA, Sweden, Norway, 2011.
• Duration: 153 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.8.

• Thriller, detective.
• USA, 1946.
• Duration: 109 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.0.

General Sternwood's daughter is being blackmailed. Detective Marlowe agrees to find the extortionists. But this is not so easy to do: the suspects die one after another.

18. Shutter Island

• Thriller, detective.
• USA, 2010.
• Duration: 138 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.1.

Two marshals come to the island, where there is a psychiatric hospital for criminals. They will have to investigate the patient's escape and uncover the secrets of this dangerous place.

19. Brick

• Detective, drama.
• USA, 2005.
• Duration: 110 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.4.

A brutal teenage story about a guy named Brendan Fry. One day he meets his ex-girlfriend Emily soon disappears without a trace. Brendan senses something is wrong and goes looking for her.

20. Kiss Bang Bang

• , detective.
• USA, 2005.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.6.

Unlucky thief Harry Lockhart, fleeing from the police, gets an audition. The producer notices Harry and casts him as a detective. And to make the image convincing, the former thief is sent for an internship to the real detective Perry van Shrike. The heroes go to investigate a murder and find themselves in comical situations.

21. Captives

• Thriller, drama, detective.
• USA, 2013.
• Duration: 153 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.1.

Two little girls go missing at a neighbor's party. The police are investigating, but all they have is a van parked near the victims' house. The father of one of the girls cannot sit idly by and begins to look for his daughter on his own.

• Thriller, drama, detective.
• USA, 1997.
• Duration: 138 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.3.

A film in the neo-noir genre tells story of three detectives investigating a mass murder in a cafe. Evidence leads the police to the bandits, who die in a shootout. The case is closed, but detectives begin to doubt that these were the same killers from the cafe.

23. Murder on the Orient Express

• Drama, detective.
• Great Britain, 1974.
• Duration: 128 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.3.

A murder occurred in one of the compartments of the trans-European express. The train is stuck in the snow, so until the police arrive, the investigation is led by Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The case turns out to be complicated, because each passenger on the train had a motive for the murder., 2003.

Duration: 131 minutes.

IMDb: 8.1.

Two women are killed in the Korean countryside. The police are trying to find the killer by any means. When they reach a dead end, Seoul detective Seo Tae-yoon is sent to help them.

• Drama, detective.
• USA, 1944.
• Duration: 88 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.1.

Police Lieutenant McPherson is assigned to investigate the murder of successful businesswoman Laura Hunt. The detective takes a liking to the deceased and decides to look into her apartment, not suspecting what awaits him there.

• Drama, detective.
• USA, 1967.
• Duration: 109 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.0.

At a time when racial prejudice was still strong, a black and white police officer gets the chance to work together. Detectives differ not only in skin color, but also in their views and methods. To successfully solve the case, two police officers will have to learn to work together. The film received five Oscars, including best movie and Best Actor.

Instead of the son of a successful businessman Gondo, criminals kidnap the child of his personal driver. Gondo is faced with a choice: pay the ransom and bankrupt his company or be tormented by guilt for the rest of his life.

29. Suspicious persons

• Thriller, drama, detective.
• USA, Germany, 1995.
• Duration: 106 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.6.

Police are investigating the deaths of 27 people due to the ship explosion. In their search for the truth, the investigators are helped by a surviving criminal named Chatterbox, who was planning to run a small business with his friends.

The British Academy awarded the film a statuette for Best Film, and Kevin Spacey received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

• Drama, detective.
• Japan, 1950.
• Duration: 88 minutes.
• IMDb: 8.3.

The plot of the film takes place in Japan in the 11th century. The case of the murder of a samurai and the rape of his wife is being investigated. The investigation has four versions of what happened. But which one to choose if each witness is sure that he is telling the truth?

The choice was not easy. When selecting the best detective authors, we had to hold a tough competition, during which we left out quite a few worthy people: Gilbert Keith Chesterton with his stories about Father Brown, Graham Greene and even some Japanese guy who draws detective cartoons (I mean, anime).

Since the number of voters exceeded a hundred, and the incomprehensible nervousness of those who disagreed with the results led to the broken windows of my house and three arson attacks (and that’s just in last month), it's time to reconsider your attitude towards the masters of the detective genre. Last will be first, won't it, Mr. Chase? At the same time, the rating has been expanded to 15 positions - so welcome the newcomers :)

So, the best detective writers!

• The poll at the bottom of the article now has 21 writers. When voting, you can choose from 1 to 7 options. Perhaps, through joint efforts, we will be able to make this rating more objective.

• Year of birth: 1964;
• Popular Novels:"The Da Vinci Code", "Angels and Demons";
• What's interesting: the book Angels and Demons states that Raphael was originally buried in Urbino, not Rome. Although this is just the writer’s fantasy, due to the popularity of the novel, a sign had to be installed in the Pantheon (where Raphael is buried) explaining that the artist’s ashes have always been here, and Brown can go to hell.

Dan Brown doesn’t write much, but he does it successfully: everyone has heard about the acclaimed novel “The Da Vinci Code.” In total, the writer published 6 novels, 3 of which were filmed (Inferno is coming out this year). His books are characterized by conspiracy theories, Masons, Illuminati and other mysteries. However, Dan Brown is not always historically accurate and may present facts that are not true.

The funny thing is that some of his fans forget that they are reading a work of fiction and, faced with a discrepancy between the writer’s next creation and secular sources, rush to see in this some kind of “the authorities are hiding” conspiracy.

14th place. Stieg Larsson

• Years of life: 1954 — 2004;
• Popular Novels: the Millennium trilogy;
• Popular character: Mikael Blomkvist;
• What's interesting: The photo above shows a letter from 1972, in which “experts” from the Stockholm College of Journalism explain to Larsson that he is not good enough and will not make a journalist.

During his life, Stig was able to prove that “experts” should not be trusted - he not only became an excellent journalist, but also quite good writer. True, besides the aforementioned trilogy, due to his early death from a heart attack, Larsson did not have time to write anything else. Alas, this tragedy can hardly be called accidental - the writer’s friends say that he smoked about 60 cigarettes a day. But the Ministry of Health warned...

The Millennium trilogy was published after Larsson's death. In 2009, a Swedish film adaptation of all 3 novels was released, and in 2011 a more famous Hollywood version of one of them appeared: “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”

13th place. Raymond Chandler

12th place. Dashiell Hammett

The heroes of the new genre relied not only and not so much on a sharp mind, but also on a revolver - detective novels became more action-packed, and the murders of counts and barons with the help of poisoned strawberries and cream sank into oblivion.

11th place. William Wilkie Collins

Since he didn’t write many good detective stories (after all, he lived not only detective stories, but also novellas, short stories and opium), he ranks only 12th in our ranking.

10th place. John Grisham

• Year of birth: 1955;
• Popular Novels:"The Firm", "The Case of the Pelicans", "The Client".

John Grisham was an ordinary lawyer who was trying to make ends meet in the 80s. Things were not going too well - there were few clients. One day, while in the courthouse, John heard about the case of the father of a 12-year-old girl, who killed his daughter's rapists. Out of curiosity, the lawyer stayed at the trial, which inspired him to write his first book, A Time to Kill. The book was published in a small edition, but nevertheless it was the beginning.

Since the lawyer had enough time, he took up the second book, “The Firm.” Unexpectedly for everyone, it became a bestseller - 1.5 million copies were printed in 1991.

Grisham ended his career as a lawyer and concentrated on writing detective stories. Currently working on a series of teenage detective stories, where Theodore Boone is the main character. The circulation of all Grisham's books is about 300 million copies, which is a very respectable figure.

9th place. Ian Fleming

• Years of life: 1906 — 1964;
• Popular character: James Bond.

The English writer Ian Fleming gave the world Agent 007 James Bond, who, with his characteristic aristocracy, emerges victorious from any scrape. In total, Ian wrote 12 Bond novels, as well as 2 collections of short stories dedicated to this hero. Nevertheless, twice as many films have been made based on these books - 25 to date.

And perhaps the only thing that can confuse astute reader, so this is the absence in his books detective stories. Bond is an adventure thriller, a spy thriller, but a detective story?.. However, fans of the genre claim that Fleming’s novels contain a whole web of political intrigue, so that they can be considered as representatives of a kind of political detective story.

8th place. Earl Stanley Gardner

7th place. Boris Akunin

In the harsh 90s, publishing houses unanimously disowned stories about Fandorin, but at the beginning of the 2000s, detective stories in the spirit of the romance of Conan Doyle went “Hurray!” This is confirmed by several successful film adaptations, which, oddly enough, can also be called successful - which does not often happen with modern Russian cinema.

Today it has become popular to traditionally declare that Akunin is no longer the same. But let's not rush - time will tell.

6th place. James Hadley Chase

It’s no secret that my subjective attitude towards Chase prompted me to relegate this writer to the margins of our ranking of detective authors - as for me, his novels are quite of the same type. But James' fans stood up for their favorite and, unwillingly, I had to glaze the broken windows and raise Hadley to 6th place. Although according to the vote he deserves better. But let’s not rush – maybe one of his grandchildren is “inflating” the vote? I don't see a more logical explanation.

At one time, the Riga Film Studio created a fairly passable film adaptation of his novel “The Whole World in Your Pocket.”

If you consider modern detective stories to be frivolous literature, you are very mistaken. A true detective story is literature in its purest form, a mixture of literary professionalism top level, multiplied by fantasy, but conditioned by very harsh rules of the game, since detective fiction is a very demanding genre!

Few people today follow the pure schemes of Agatha Christie or Raymond Chandler. The detective story is increasingly becoming a field of experimentation, where the search for the killer has always not been in the first place.

We offer a selection of recent novels that are impossible to ignore if you want to know what a first-class modern detective story looks like.

J. Nesbe. "Police"

Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø does the truly impossible on paper. Not only did he not give up until the tenth book in the series about detective Harry Hole, but he kept growing. And now he has published almost his best novel!

Nesbø is an exemplary Scandinavian writer whose style is famous for its murderous brutality. Its essence is criticism human nature and society as such, where you are either a criminal or a victim, and if you are a victim, this does not mean that you are innocent, because everyone is guilty.

The main character is such that you don’t know whether to spit in his face or become friends forever. That is, the now popular (with the advent of House and Dexter on screens) goodness with an inhuman face. Nesbe, by the way, formed this genre - together with Mankell and Vale.

Detective Hole is an alcoholic whose achievements in this field are proportional to the level of professional intuition. He almost died in the previous book, so he decided to quit his job, quit drinking, start teaching and even get married. But at the sites of long-standing unsolved crimes, the corpses of murdered police officers begin to be found one after another. It becomes more and more clear that the killer does not take revenge, but punishes those who themselves did not punish the evil. And the best detective gives lectures and has no intention of returning.

And this is where the fun begins: Hole understands that they won’t be able to cope without him. But he also understands that his demons will return to him along with his work...

"Police" is a standard example of a detective story that turns into a story about a detective.

Without a doubt, this is the best detective story of the past year - only a few people today can maintain such tension on voluminous 600 pages with so many characters and constantly deceive even the most experienced readers. And Nesbe is definitely one of them.

Joel Dicker. "The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair"

The author of the detective story is only 27 years old. He is one of the main literary sensations of 2012: his book received various prestigious awards, was translated into more than 30 languages ​​and has currently million copies. Ignoring such texts is a crime!

Very successful young, but already in a state of deep creative crisis, writer Marcus Goldman goes to see his teacher and good friend, a living classic American literature Harry Quebert looking for inspiration. But here's the problem - in Quebert's garden they find the remains of a fifteen-year-old girl who disappeared 33 years ago, and next to her in her purse is the manuscript of the famous novel Harry, who, in turn, admits that he had an affair with the deceased real love. And now Marcus, who sincerely wants to help his friend and understands the full potential of a book about such an investigation, is combing the American province in the hope of getting to the bottom of the truth.
There are so many postmodernist things in Pravda! In essence, this is a novel about novels and about writers, a textbook on writing (each chapter begins with advice from the elder to the younger), the laws of which do not work in the novel itself. The set of locations and characters that appeal to the widest cultural background makes your head spin!

If you want, start delving into Pravda and look for the basics, or if you want, savor the exciting detective story to the shiver, because the rules of the game here are followed flawlessly: having set hundreds of traps, Dicker hides the real killer so deep in the plot that the likelihood of premature guesses is extremely small.

Critics are right who consider Dicker's novel uneven, twisted and not entirely cohesive. But he is so arrogant and ambitious in a good way that, without exaggeration, he becomes the main must-read of the season.

Kate Atkinson. "Crimes from the Past"

Once upon a time in England, in the Cambridge area, a three-year-old girl disappeared from her father's garden at night; The daughter of a famous lawyer was killed right at her workplace, it is unclear why and for what reason; in one family many years ago there was a scandal that ended with the use of an ax. Different time, different families, different stories. For such a strange and volumetric beginning(names, details, all sorts of oddities) you don’t immediately notice when Jackson Brody appears - an ex-police inspector, now a private detective, a loser who is going through a divorce, sleeps with clients, but tries to remain honest and principled in a world that is filled with chaos and darkness .

It is to him that the relatives of the people who figured in these long-standing crimes turn to him. So he begins a hopeless investigation. Over time, Jackson realizes that everything is connected in some incomprehensible way.

In 2010, “Crimes of the Past” was translated for the first time, and is now being republished - we took advantage of this to add the novel to our list, since many sincerely consider this detective project of the writer best project decades (Stephen King, for example) and there are enough reasons for such a statement. It is from the example of this text that one can fully understand how the detective genre itself is mutating in the twenty-first century.

A lot of sarcasm and irony, enough farce, eccentricity, specific humor that goes hand in hand with horror - the genre of “Crimes of the Past” may raise questions. There really isn't much of a classic detective story here. “Novel with crime”, “black satire on English society”, “intellectual prose”: there can be many definitions.

And the fact that the story is indeed somewhat overloaded with events (3 crimes, attempts on Brody himself, his own secrets) does not spoil the novel in any way - the mechanism works perfectly, the style is verified to the letter. British literature, in a word.

Nikolai Svechin. "Warsaw Secrets"

Svechin was rightly compared to Akunin. But always from above. This would have continued to be the case if it weren’t for the most influential Russian critic Lev Danilkin, who one day decided to re-read Svechin’s novels, do an interview with him, and turn him into a star, if not of the first, then certainly of serious magnitude.

“Hunt for the Tsar”, “Shot on Bolshaya Morskaya”, “Bullet from the Caucasus”. Indeed, where the late Akunin has buffoonery and stylization for the sake of stylization, Svechin has a first-class historical novel with a strong detective background. The Novgorod writer’s heroes are not supermen like Fandorin, but ordinary people, provincials, whose origin is an important plot-forming point.

The author of “Secrets” sees the element of history itself as a priority. Svechinsky hero Lykov is a collegiate assessor, a nobleman in the first generation, of average mental abilities, does not know anything foreign languages, which often fails him catastrophically. But he sees evil, is not afraid and acts, and this is already a strong foundation. In “Warsaw Secrets,” Lykov, together with his constant boss, intends to find out the real reasons for the brutal murders of Russian officers in the Polish capital.

Jesse Kellerman. "Heat"

That rare case when the words from the cover exactly correspond to the essence of the book - “sun-drenched noir”. It would seem like an oxymoron, which should be designated either some kind of stylistic chimera, or something that was not even close to classic noir. But no - “Heat” is one of those debuts with which one can go down in the history of American literature.

Los Angeles, around our time, earthquake. Thirty-five-year-old secretary Gloria goes into the office to check on the collection of figurines that her boss Carl, who in turn adores her, has survived. From the confusing messages on the answering machine, she understands that something happened to him, but it is impossible to understand what.

But most importantly, he is somewhere in Mexico, where she goes. And there is a surreal world of a provincial town, where the only noticeable places are a funeral home and a cemetery, and people are real ghosts running away from the heat. But we shouldn’t rush to conclusions: Kellerman’s novel is as much a thriller and road movie ala Castaneda as it is a full-blooded detective story. The boss is unknown where and why. He's probably not who he said he is. And he didn’t die the way she thought. The policeman who does this behaves rather strangely. The son of the boss, with whom the heroine begins an affair, is not his son at all...

And at the end there is a plot somersault that will testify to the full power of the past, which can return. Yes, not a very classic detective story, or rather, not a classic one at all. A multi-genre mix, but it contains the main detective components. And most importantly, it is impossible to tear yourself away from this action-packed piece until you read to the end.

Kellerman - 35 years old American writer, son famous writers Fay and Jonathan Kellerman, not yet a cult author, but already close to this status, is probably the best author of his generation, since each of his five novels became a sensation.

Kellerman is one of the greatest discoveries of recent times. A writer who so professionally and magically creates the fabric of his novels so amazingly that at some point you simply begin to enjoy the very air of literature, literature as a pure possibility. A very, very rare gift!